William M. Flowers, the gentleman  whose biographical mention is herewith 
presented, is the second son of W. H. and Sarah T. Flowers, and was born in 
Fayette County, Georgia, September 14, 1842.  He was reared on a farm, early 
learned by practical experience the meaning of the words hard work, and in 
January, 1862, enlisted in company C, Thirty-third Alabama infantry, with which he 
served as private until 1863, when he was  appointed sergeant-major of the 
regiment. He held that position until the fall of 1864, at which time he was 
elected first lieutenant of company C, and continued in that capacity until the 
close of the war.

Mr. Flowers' command  was stationed at Pensacola till after the battle of 
Shiloh, and then joined Bragg's army at Tupelo and moved with it to Chattanooga. 
At the battle of Perryville he received a bullet wound in the right shoulder 
and was taken prisoner and sent to Harrisburg, Ky., for treatment, thence,  
in December, 1862, to Vicksburg, Miss., where he was exchanged.  He rejoined 
his regiment just after the battle of Murfreesboro, and subsequently participated 
in the battles of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and Lookout Mountain, and wintering 
at Dalton, Ga., took part in the bloody campaign of Atlanta.  He was with Hood's army in 
its raid through Tennessee, and did valiant service in the battles of Franklin 
and Nashville, and after the latter engagement obtained a furlough and spent 
twenty days at home, afterward rejoining his command at Harrisburg, S. C.

Returning home after the close of the war, Mr. Flowers accepted a position 
with the saw-mill firm of Evans, Teal & Co., with which he remained two years, 
and for one year thereafter filled the position as agent for the M. & M. 
railroad company at the city of Montgomery.

Severing his connection with railroading, he next engaged with Milner & 
Caldwell, lumber manufacturers at Bolling, and after continuing in their employ 
less then a year moved to a farm on Cedar Creek and followed the pursuit of 
agriculture until his election as sheriff of Butler county in the fall of 1874. 
He proved a popular and efficient officer until the expiration of his term 
of three years, at which time he embarked in the mercantile business at 
Greenville and continued the same until 1880, when in partnership with R .E. Corry 
he purchased a mill and began the manufacture of lumber in the vicinity of the 
county seat.  The firm thus constituted lasted until 1884, at which time it 
was dissolved, Mr. Flowers effecting a copartnership in the milling
and lumber business at Forest with G. J. Peagler, under the firm name of 
Flowers & Peagler, by which style the company is still known.

Mr. Flowers is justly considered one of the prominent men of the county; his 
well known integrity and business ability have won him an enviable place in 
the affections and minds of those who know him best, and his whole life is an 
exemplification of what honesty and perseverance will give those whose aims 
are prompted by noble emotions.  Mr. Flowers and Sophronia E. Peagler were 
made man and wife on the 25th day of January, 1868, and they are now the parents 
of five children, namely: Abbey Flowers, wife of O.R. Porter;  George Flowers,
Katy Flowers, Walter Flowers and Willie Flowers.  Mr. and Mrs. Flowers are 
members of the Baptist church.  The fraternities to which Mr. Flowers belongs 
are the Masonic lodges, the K. of H. and K. of P., and his political views are 
in harmony with the principles of democracy.